In 1928, C.V. Raman discovered the effect named after him. For the discovery and his work on light scattering, in 1930, he was awarded the Physics Nobel Prize. His student Sukumar Chandra Sirkar was one of two students (the other was K.S. Krishnan), who left record on the discovery of the Raman effect.

S.C. Sirkar did not make any significant discoveries; he did, however, influence the development of science in India by training a number of students. He headed the newly established Department of Optics at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences, Calcutta. Almost nothing is known about his life and work. The present book explores some aspects of his life, as well as his scientific work and its reception by the scientific community.